Norse PantheonCreature
Fenrir
- Boundless Growth
- God-slaying Strength
A monstrous wolf, son of Loki and Angrboda. Foretold to kill Odin during Ragnarok, he is bound by the magical ribbon Gleipnir until the end times.
About Fenrir
The Bound Wolf
Fenrir is Loki's wolf-son by Angrboda, raised among the Aesir until his growth made the gods fear the prophecy that he would kill Odin. They bound him on Lyngvi with the dwarven fetter Gleipnir; Tyr lost his hand when Fenrir found the trick. He is a doom kept in chains, not a cult animal: no wolf-priesthood survives in the Eddas.
At Ragnarok he breaks free, swallows Odin, and dies by Vidar's vengeance. Snorri is the fullest prose witness; the poems supply the bite and the binding.
Quick answers about Fenrir
- What is Fenrir?
- A monstrous wolf, son of Loki and Angrboda. Foretold to kill Odin during Ragnarok, he is bound by the magical ribbon Gleipnir until the end times.
- Where does Fenrir live?
- The atlas lists Fenrir's habitat as Lyngvi (The Island of Heather).
- What abilities does Fenrir have?
- The atlas lists these abilities for Fenrir: Boundless Growth and God-slaying Strength.
Sources and further reading
Source notes
These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.
- Prose Edda, Gylfaginning (trans. Anderson)
About this entry
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
The danger rating is an editorial shorthand for how the myths portray the creature, not a claim made by the sources.
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